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The Idaho House sent a bill banning minors' use of tanning beds back to committee for review after the director of the Idaho Freedom Foundation sent an e-mail to lawmakers suggesting that dermatologists support the bill out of financial self-interest. Dermatologist Steven Mings said the claim was ludicrous. Outdoor living, elevation and population factors already put his state's residents at risk for skin cancer, Mings said.

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The Idaho Legislature on Thursday voted 23-12 in favor of a bill that would prohibit people younger than age 14 from using tanning beds and require 14- to 17-year-olds to have a parental consent form to use tanning beds. The legislation is awaiting Gov. C. L. Otter's approval.

Lawmakers have reached a compromise on the Farm Bill, and the House could vote on the measure this week. The measure retains a provision requiring country of origin labeling and leaves out a dairy supply management provision. The 2008 Farm Bill expired in September.

Lawmakers in Arizona and Illinois proposed barring minors from using indoor tanning beds, and a bill in Colorado would require parental consent for anyone younger than 18 to indoor tan. "If you start indoor tanning before 30, it increases your risk of melanoma by 75%," said dermatologist Bill Halmi. "If you start before the age of 20, it's an even greater risk."

Republican lawmakers in Minnesota are pushing bills for limits on medical malpractice claims similar to those in 30 other states. Democrats who oppose the bills argue that because malpractice insurance premiums in Minnesota are among the lowest in the nation, the bill would accomplish little more than to "pick winners and losers."